Bigger Picture
by GJFH
Summary: Fenton Hardy, Ex-cop, Private Investigator and father to Frank and Joe Hardy. For years that is all he has been to them but when an international terrorist shows up in Bayport looking for his son he confronts Fenton and forces him to reveal himself to his family, and his city. Meanwhile Joe faces his own past when he almost dies saving a mysterious woman with ties to his father.
1. Chapter 1

Bigger Picture

by GJFH

** I can't believe I'm actually finally posting something on fanfiction! ****This is my first EVER fanfic so please review!I appreciate any comments,suggestions,or critical kindness...(if I made a mistake.) ****Thank you Nancy Austin and Baltimore Raven for being so encouraging, enjoy!**

Joe Hardy studied the card in his hands with a frown,sighing he crammed it in his back pocket and stiffened when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Joe,don't worry. I'll talk to mom and dad about this."Joe frowned and quickly spun around catching his older brother Frank off guard;

"No Frank you won't. I can do this myself I don't need you to convince mom and dad that I'll stop standing up for Zain. He's 15 Frank,he's also only what? Five feet two and under 100 pounds. Nobody else is going to sta-

Okay Joe I won't."Frank interrupted and Joe watched his brother for honesty before twisting the knob of their bedroom door. Frank closed his eyes and collapsed gently against his nicely made bed, Zain Saleem was new to Bayport and of course Bayport High as well. He had been friendly to both brothers and seemed very interested in their detective work, Zain was good with technology and spent his hours in the Bayport High Library. Frank sighed and let his thoughts run to his brother and the way the impulsive blond had taken guard over Zain almost like the way Frank watched over Joe. Suddenly,

a woman's loud voice broke through Frank's thoughts.

"Joesph Hardy you gave poor Ryan Chapman a black eye and temporally made the boy lose consciousness!"Frank grimaced as he sat up, more low arguing drifted towards the boy's bedroom.

"Fenton,you're clearly not thinking straight!"Aunt Trudy's shrill voice rose up again then silence...Frank lifted his ear towards the door and unexpectedly his Aunt looked in "Frank are you eavesdropping?"Frank jumped back and gave his aunt a look,

"Look,Aunt Trudy-Joe was just defending Zain from Ryan and his friends."Trudy looked straight into her nephew's eyes and sighed.

"Of course he probably was but couldn't he have just called Mr. Fleeman or,or maybe they-"A loud bang stopped Trudy's words,it only took a couple of seconds for Frank to figure out that Joe had left slamming the door behind him. Aunt Trudy winced lacing her long fingers together,

"Aunt Trudy,I'll go get him."Frank promised and peered between the window blinds to see his brother approach their motorcycles,dashing downstairs he quickly passed his parents and flung the door open.

"Frank honey,just let him cool."His mother spoke up behind him and Frank stopped to meet her eyes and shake his head;

"No mom,I know Joe he's going to do something stupid."He protested and Laura Hardy sighed.

"Okay,go just-

what?Be back by dinner time?"Frank interrupted sarcastically and gave her one last look before leaving the house. Outside,the January weather welcomed him with rain,shivering he wrapped his arms around his waist and rushed towards his brother.

"Joe no!" Joe looked up as he pulled up his visor,

"Sorry Frank,mom and dad are mad,so is Aunt Trudy,and Ryan's probably coming back for revenge."Joe said almost nonchalantly as he straddled the bike. giving his brother one last look he turned to back his motorcycle out of the driveway. Frank watched and let his shoulders slump,then with one quick decision he dashed back towards the house.

Frank grabbed the knob and muttered under his breath when the door wouldn't open.  
>"C'mon mom,dad,I need my riding jacket!The doors locked!"Frowning and shaking his head he started to knock on the door but was stopped half-way and the door suddenly swung open. Frank stepped inside and turned to the coat closet,the front door swung eerily closed behind him. Feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up Frank slowly turned his head. Nothing was out of place wait,except for-BAM! Frank felt something hard hit the back of his skull,pain erupted and darkness closed in.<p> 


	2. Chapter Two

Bigger Picture Chapter Two

Joe really didn't care where he was going,it didn't matter. The rain was relentless,wind shook the trees and he felt sick. Eventually he knew he'd stop but for now... "RADIOACTIVE! RADIOACTIVE!" Joe groaned loudly to himself,Iola he should have know not to let her near his phone, actually Iola was probably calling now. Stopping at a red light he grabbed his SmartPhone out of his pocket and scrolled down the list of missed calls. Yep, Iola, a sudden hand motion turned his attention to his right where the woman driving the mini-van gave him a frown and motioned for him to pocket the phone. Shrugging his shoulders he obeyed and turned to-wait no Frank wasn't here and he wasn't riding thrill riding either. The light turned green and as soon as possible he was speeding away. It was only a matter of time when he realized that he was that on the old dirt trail that led into the woods. Joe took a deep breath and stopped to run a hand through his blond hair,okay now he was regretting this. He really should have listened to Frank, time for a walk something in him decided and off he went.

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><p>Iola Morton was tapping against the glass-repeatedly.<p>

"Should I call him again?"She asked in a worried tone the bubbly girl didn't use often.

"I don't know, do I have to solve ALL of your Joe related problems?" Chet Morton replied grumpily and rolled his eyes at the look his sister gave him.

"It would be nice, Chet!It's 4:00 he was supposed to be here half-an hour ago."Chet sighed and got off the floor where he was arranging his moon rock collection, silently he stood next to his sister.

"Actually this is kinda strange, even for Joe. I would go over to their house to see but with the hurricane warning and all..." Iola gave her brother a shove towards the door.

"Go Chet, c'mon remember that Johnny Thunder guy? The meteorologists are always wrong."

Chet looked skeptically at this "Iola, always?"

" Please Chet?" She pleaded giving him sad puppy eyes, Chet groaned.

"Fine,but I'm only checking the Hardy's house." Iola gave him a grateful smile and wrapped his jacket around his shoulders.

"Bye Chet!"she waved as he stepped outside and headed towards their 80's pick-up.

Sighing she turned away and headed upstairs,

"Iola!" Her mother called from the office and Iola groaned loudly as she turned around and made her way to her mother's cluttered office. gave her daughter a look and sorted through a stack of papers until she seemed to find what she was looking for,

"Iola honey, remember when you were talking about not having anything to write about in the school newspaper?"

Iola bit her lip,"Yeah mom,that's what Joe was supposed to help me with but-"

"no honey seriously look!"Mrs. Morton pointed and Iola leaned forward to read the article.

_**LEAD TERRIOSIST SUSPECTED TO BE IN BAYPORT**_

_On December 30 2013 Federal Agents were in hot pursuit of an International Terrorist who was hiding in the state of New York. The Federal Agents linked *Aziz** Saleem* **to a string of murders in Iraq, Afghanistan, Romania,and Egypt. A recent sighting of him, in New York was Saleem's first time in America, the Agents believe. On January 12 the Federal Agents teamed up with the Baltimore Police Force, in the city of Baltimore, and were held up in a warehouse. Saleem evaded them. He is rumored to be searching for something but federal investigators can only guess what. Forces across the East Coast continue to search for him and urge anyone with information to contact the FBI tip line immediately. Arundhati is said to be a 5'5" middle-eastern male with black hair, brown eyes and the distinct feature of a black scorpion on his left forearm._

***Terrorists supposed name***

Iola stared in shock at the article until her mother gently shook her arm.

"Iola, Iola wouldn't that be a good topic?" Iola shook her head quickly then again,

"Mom,there's this new boy at school named Zain SALEEM could he-could he possibly be Arundhati Saleem's son?" Mrs. Morton gave her daughter another look,

"Iola do you have to be so suspicious of everyone? He's from England remember?"

Iola sighed and held the paper to her mother's face.

"Mom,seriously he looks just like this guy and-"

"He was raised in England by his grandmother after his parent's death." Mrs. Morton interrupted her daughter and Iola gave a look of surprise,

"How do you know some much about him?"Mrs. Morton rolled her eyes.

"He told me his whole life story the other day,he's a very resilient young man who has worked very hard for his education. I'm actually thinking you might want to do some sort of honorary student thing in your paper." Iola shrugged and muttered "I guess so" under her breath before making her way to the T.V to watch the weather.

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><p>Joe sat on the edge of the cliff and watched the Atlantic Sea rage against the rocks.<p>

The rain hadn't stopped, in fact it had gotten worse, Joe was thinking about going back soon because of it . Shivering he wrapped his arms around himself and wished that he would have thought of bringing a jacket,if he didn't leave maybe he'd get pneumonia. Not that he wanted to get it, he just couldn't leave.

"Help!"A frightened voice broke through his train of thoughts, Joe leaped and peered over and his heart leaped up as well when he saw a small sailboat getting tossed repeatedly against the rocks. Not stopping to think he tossed off his shirt and dove in the frigid water.

* * *

><p>It was dark when Frank came to,wait-that's because he had his eyes closed.<p>

Hmm...his head hurt and his wrists too,someone was whispering above him. He tried to talk but no words came. Finally; "Ooof."He thought he should try again when;

"Oh my,Frank are you waking up?I think he's finally coming to Fenton!"His mother...sick of being incapable of anything, Frank forced his eyes and immediately wish he hadn't. Nausea and dizziness soon overtook him and he quickly closed them again.

"Sorry about that chap,I think Marko might have given you a concussion." What? A different voice this time, Frank decided to see who was talking. Slowly opening his eyes he had to blink to clear his vision and then he settled on a tall man lounging against the sofa, a stranger. Turning his head slowly he met the gaze of his father and his mother who were bound back to back...in their own house.

"Frank?Are you alright honey?"His mother asked in a worried tone. Frank nodded unsure of why him and his parents were tied up and why his head hurt so much.

"Umm...why-wait no,what happened?" Frank thought this would be a better question to ask especially with the strange man in the house. Fenton lowered his head almost like he was ashamed to answer,

"Well, my boss is looking for something and searching for answers." The tall stranger answered and instantly Frank started putting the pieces together in his head.

Tied-up, knocked out,answers...the tall stranger had to be a guard holding the Hardy family hostage in their own house!


	3. Chapter 3

**Within Will and Without Courage**

Joe's descent towards the the frigid waters ended abruptly with a loud splash of which Joe was unable to hear above the roaring sea. With a sudden burst of adrenaline Joe fought his way to the surface. Gasping for breath he quickly turned his head to see where the cries of help came from. It was only a second later when was knocked back underwater and was desperately trying to to swim back up. A larger wave this time carried him up and slammed him mercilessly into a rock. Closing his eyes to will off the the pain and nausea Joe breathed deeply and when he opened his eyes he gasped at the sight of red water lapping up against the rock. Whilst clinging hard to his stronghold Joe quickly checked himself for injuries. No,none and that's when he realized the blood didn't belong to him, it belonged to a body about twelve feet from where he where he was.

Joe sucked in a breath and swam freestyle over to the body. A man most definitely. In his sixties maybe,Joe put his middle and index fingers to the man's neck and cursed silently when he felt no pulse. Of course as he surveyed the area surrounding the body he figured it made more sense. Blood was splattered against the dead man's neck and little pieces of broken rock sat on his chest. Joe shivered and studied the body sadly,maybe he should come faster,maybe then-

"Help!"Came a terrified scream. Joe's head shot up and then again without thinking he let go of the rock and started off towards the cry of help. Struggling against the monster waves that threatened to overturn him was almost impossible but Joe wasn't going to give up. With a big wave in sight he took a breath and dived under to avoid direct impact. "Help!Please Help!"Came the cry again,it sounded muted to Joe's water logged ears and for a second he couldn't tell if he was underwater or above it. Fighting off the growing panic inside him Joe grabbed something in the murky water and swam up.

Taking another deep breath he looked over to what he was holding on to and realization dawned on him,it was the capsized sail boat."Help!" A third time, Joe looked up and gasped. A young woman,a little older than himself clung like her life depended on it-wait, it did, to the boat's mast which had fallen over and was hanging dangerously over the raging sea.

Grabbing the inside of the boat Joe grunted and lifted himself up.

"Hold-hold on, I'm coming." His voice sounded hoarse and raw, standing on his feet he had to force himself not to fall,*CRACK*!Joe barely had time to look up before pieces of the mast rained on top of him pinning him to the boat.

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><p>Frank Hardy was exhausted,his head was throbbing,his zip-tied wrists were killing him and the man holding them hostage in their own house wouldn't shut-up. But when he closed his eyes the pain became more bearable."Frank honey,how are you feeling?" It was his mother again,<p>

"Good."He answered,"Just peachy."He hated feeling like this, unable to do anything...

"Is he not coming?."Came an angry sounding man,he had an accent. Middle eastern maybe. Frank's eyes snapped open and he struggled to focus on the Boss. Frank was sure he had seen this man,or at least heard the description of him.

"Oh my goodness!"Frank heard his mother gasp behind him,

"Mom,"realization dawned on him,"That's the guy from..."He couldn't even let himself finish. He now knew where he seen this man, apparently he was wanted for a string of murders and terrorist attacks in the middle east. The man-the terrorist,Frank couldn't place his name,stepped towards the three hostages. Frank gave him an angry look. What do you want with us?"The terrorist gave him a surprised look.

"You haven't figured it out yet? Maybe you thinking you learned from the best was wrong. You learned from your father, a terrible detective. "Frank could feel his father stiffen behind him, Fenton Hardy hadn't said a word since...since. Frank's train of thought was interrupted by a sharp kick to his shins. Startled Frank looked up into the face of the leering terrorist. "I'm here for my son, he was taken away from me after my wife was brutally murdered by an American Soldier. They took him to England and took away everything I tried to teach him,then he came here to-why am I not surprised? Fenton Hardy's family."F rank's thoughts were racing to try to keep up with everything the terrorist was saying.

Why are you holding us here then?"A scoff,

"Zanier obviously loved your family, he did spend a lot of time here and-"The terrorist was interpreted with Fenton Hardy standing up."Ah-I see the old keep the villain talking then I shall escape trick."The terrorist smiled," Good for you Fenton,I say we settle this man-to man what do you think?" Laura Hardy gave a cry of fear behind him, it only took a second for Frank to conjure up a plan. Slipping his Swiss Army knife out of his shoe(with a lot of difficulty),Frank managed to pass it to his mother and motion for her to cut his bonds. Fenton Hardy cracked his neck,there was something more then anger in his eye, but Frank didn't remember ever seeing it.

"All right Aziz, let's do this."Fenton agreed. Aziz, Frank gave himself a moment to let that name sink in before focusing on the fact his father and this man knew each other.

"Frank,you're free."Mrs. Hardy whispered,Frank nodded and prepared to stand to his feet when-*KNOCK,KNOCK,KNOCK*.The room fell silent and Frank glanced towards the door hopefully,it could be Joe but even if it wasn't there was still a chance of them being rescued.

"Franklin,why don't you open that, I see you've already gotten your mother to cut you free."Aziz said beckoning smoothly to the door. Feeling sick Frank stood to his feet unsteadily,taking a step forward he winced as the cool hard blade of a knife-desert eagle, probably, was pressed to the back of his neck."Go."Aziztwhispered savagely and Frank hurried to obey.*KNOCK *KNOCK *KNOCK!

"I'm coming!"Frank called out to whoever was on the other side of the door and set put his hand on the door knob,opening it just enough to see who was there." Chet!Ummm,what are you doing here?"Chet looked up and put his hand down from the door.

"Hey Frank,where's Joe? He was supposed to work with Iola on the school paper,can I speak to him?"Chet moved to come in and Frank quickly blocked the door with his body.

"Sorry Chet, Joe's in bed with the flu." Frank's lie came fast and Chet shrugged,

"Okay, I'll tell Iola. Frank what happened to your head?" Chet asked and Frank felt his head and winced softly when he felt a egg sized bump,glancing around the room behind him for an excuse.

"Boomerang,I recommend you don't play with a boomerang inside Chet, it's dangerous. Chet nodded and turned back to his pick-up.

"Bye Frank,tell your brother to get well soon!" Frank nodded and watched Chet back up with a lump in his throat.

"Inside now."Aziz hissed and Frank realized that he was standing outside in the pouring rain. Frank gave one last longing world to the world before stepping back inside . His mother gave him a look of desperation and question and Frank had to shake his head. No,no one that could rescue them," Is he coming?"Aziz asked one of his guards releasing Frank from his grip.

"No, Saleem. The boy is being stubborn ,"The guard replied and instantly as soon as the words were spoken Aziz spun and in a fit of anger threw his knife at the guard. It only took a second for the knife to lodge itself into the guard's throat. The guard had no time to duck,he hadn't even seen it coming. He stood still for a moment before sliding down against the wall and hitting the floor.

"Marshall,get me my desert eagle!"Aziz screeched angrily and the tall English guard hurried to obey. After the blood stained knife was place into his hands Aziz held it threateningly out towards Mrs. Hardy and beckoned her forward. Holding it to her neck the terrorist began to make a threat."Listen Fenton,call your younger son-Joesph he must know where Zanier is,if you do not comply I will kill her. If he argues with you and refuses to come I will send my guards out to kill him and bring my son here. You know I will Fenton, you know me." Frank saw the veins in his father's neck twitch out of anger and moved to help when his arms were roughly tied back behind his back.

"Thank you Marko,I almost forgot about Franklin."Aziz smiled evilly at Frank before placing the cell phone into Fenton's shaking hands.


	4. Chapter 4

** Hello! This time I managed to write this much faster then the others, but of course it isn't very long.**** Thank you; Foxy121(Don't worry I'm not planning on killing anybody:D), NancyAustin, max2013, and a special thanks to Baltimore Raven for helping me out with those writing tips. I hope you enjoy and remember to review please! **

**DISCLAIMER:I own nothing but Chet's ring tone and any people you don't recognize. **

Chet Morton parked his father's old pick-up in the Morton's driveway and unbuckled his seat belt. He was just about to open the car door when his phone started ringing,"You took away my pride and joy..." Reaching under the seat to grab it he groaned in frustration when he accidentally knocked over a half-empty can of...he didn't even want to think what it was. Finally managing to find his iPhone he stopped it's annoying ring tone and put the phone to his ear.

"Chet! Have you found him yet?" Chet rolled his eyes.

" Iola, Frank told me he's sick in bed and I'm in the driveway so I'll see you in a minute." Hanging up on his sister, Chet pushed open the door and winced as almost immediately he was pelted by the pouring rain. Pulling his hood over his head Chet made a mad dash towards the house and surprisingly the door swung right open, ***CRACK!* **A large bolt of lighting hit the earth just as Chet reached the front door.

"Chester! What were you doing out in the storm?" His mother asked standing in the doorway with her hands stationed on her hips, Iola stood behind her looking for any sign of Joe Hardy. Chet glared at his sister.

"Iola wanted me see to why Joe didn't show for their newspaper report project thingy." He answered and his mother sighed.

"You could have just called Frank or Fenton and Laura." Iola shook her head.

"No mom I tried, they wouldn't pick up either!"Mrs. Morton sighed again and looked at her children. Then finally she spoke again;

"Okay, Iola next time just-"

"Chet, Iola, Brooke c'mon let's get our stuff together and head down towards the basement. Mr. Morton interrupted his wife as he came into the foyer."We have a category 3 hurricane coming our way, Iola please get the radio." Iola felt her throat tighten, quickly she gave her father a nod and shot her brother a worried look before dashing towards the supply closet to get their emergency radio.

* * *

><p>Ughhh...something wet was clinging to his face, something was buzzing near his head as well. Joe tried to make the buzzing stop but his arm's wouldn't move and the buzzing only increased. He was cold, too cold. And his body felt too stiff and sore...just five more minutes Frank please. School wasn't that important, wait a minute. He wasn't in bed he was...the buzzing was starting to sound more like someone actually talking now and Joe opened his eyes to see who it was. An angel, bright blond hair streaming behind a beautiful face. She looked worried and then Joe could finally understand what she was saying.<p>

"Please, we need to move! Can you hear me? I said we need to move." She spoke and Joe focused on what she was saying, people tend to repeat themselves when they think nobody has heard them and the angel certainly did repeat her sentence. Joe opened his mouth to speak and suddenly it all came back to him; His parents angry, leaving the house, arriving at the edge of the cliff, then the cry for help...everything else was kinda a blur.

"I can-I can hea-"

"Oh great do you think you can stand?" She interrupted and quickly held her hand out towards his. Joe was finding it much easier to think now but he still couldn't figure out why she wanted to leave so badly. Hesitantly slipping his wrist in her arm he groaned and made an effort to stand up. His knees buckled and Joe fell back down against the sand. Wait, how did he get on the beach? The last thing he remembered was being on the wrecked boat and...

"How did I get here?" He asked wincing at the pain speaking caused him. Taking a deep breath she ran a hand through her hair and quickly glanced behind her as if anticipating something.

"I had to drag you here." She answered and then without waiting for him to speak she spoke again. "No, I can't do it again you need to stand up now." Joe nodded and took her outstretched arm. Standing shakily to his feet he hurried to keep up to the angel and more then once he had to stop to regain his balance. "Joe! Hurry up!" She angrily shouted from where she was standing and Joe stared at her in shock and disbelief.

"How do you know my name?" He shouted back at her, biting her lip she waved her hands wildly to motion him forward.

"I'll explain later, you need to trust me and come with me!" She answered, Joe studied her expression for a second before dashing off to catch up with her.

Meanwhile lying at the bottom of the sea sat a Smart Phone. If it had been working there would have been one missed call from the phone owner's father. But no, the phone wasn't working and the important call wasn't going to be heard.


	5. Chapter 5

**So...yes I did it. And I'm sorry for not updating sooner, believe me I really am. If some of the stuff in here may seem off-key or inaccurate please let me know, and if you have any ideas or want to see something happen; Just either PM me or review.**

**Thank you max2013, Foxy121, NancyAustin, Baltimore Raven, ElizabethNickerson, and Hibernia12. Every single review makes a difference so please keep it up!**

**DISCLAIMER: I only own the unrecognizable characters and places that you don't remember from the books.**

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><p>He took the battery out. Frank was surprised, when Joe was angry he just turned off his phone and let the calls stack up but he had never taken the battery out before. Fenton Hardy didn't speak. He just studied the phone in his hands then quickly looking up at the man who was holding a knife to his wife's throat he opened his mouth to speak but Arundhati beat him to it.<p>

"So he must have took the battery out." It was a rhetorical question. Fenton nodded and pulled the phone to his chest, Arundhati made an angry noise and released his grip of Mrs. Hardy letting her drop to the ground. "Why do you think he did it?" The terrorist stepped towards Fenton and ripped the phone from his hands. " Maybe he's angry." Fenton remained stone faced until Arundhati kicked Laura Hardy over to her son. "Tie her up Marko, and do _try_ to be gentle." The dark haired guard grunted and stooped down to obey.

Frank shot the guard a glare and leaned down to make his mother more comfortable.

"Marshall please tie Fenton. I shall try and find Joesph's last whereabouts." Arundhati ordered not taking his eyes off the phone in his hands.

"How are you going to do that?" Frank asked bravely ignoring the look his mother gave him. Yes, Arundhati had just murdered a man and probably dozens of others in the middle east, but Frank needed to know what the terrorist knew, and know where his brother was and if he would save them. Arundhati sighed sounding impatient.

"Ask your father about me being an absolute genius with electronics and him putting tracking devices on both of your phones. The little trackers will still work for about five hours after any damages or even if there is no battery in the phone and if you have the right password." What? How could he have the right password? And how come he know about the tracing devices when Frank didn't even know? Frank looked at his father for an explanation but Fenton wouldn't even look his way.

"Fenton you'll have to tell him." Frank glanced towards his mother in surprise, it had been a while since she spoke. "Please, Fen." She begged and Fenton shook his head not meeting her eye. Marshall finished tying his wrists and went to stand by his boss again.

"Marshall go get me my phone." Arundhati ordered laying the Hardy's phone sideways on their coffee table. "Oh, and my scanner." Frank cleared his throat ready to say something defiant when a knock on the front door stopped him. "Oh you've got to be joking!" Arundhati angrily cried out. "No, nobody move I shall just look in this window thingy and see who it is." Frank felt his mother squeeze his hand and squeezed back, it had to be Joe. Who else? Whenever Joe was locked out he pounded on the door as such as they were all hearing.

Arundhati leaned towards the door and peered through the peephole. A gasp of surprise came from the terrorist and for a second he couldn't move. Frank held his breath, waiting, hoping. Joe would know if there was anything strange going on he would know. Arundhati stepped back from the door with an evil grin plastered on his face. And the next words took all of Frank's hope away and gave him a fear he couldn't quite comprehend.

"It is my son Zanier!"

* * *

><p>Iola finished boarding up her last window and stepped back to check her work, yep that would have to hold. The heavy roar of wind made her wince, and quickly grabbing a blanket from the closet she made her way to the basement."Iola!" Mrs. Morton called out as soon as she descended the steps. "What took you so long?" Iola suddenly realized that her whole family was already in the basement.<p>

"Umm... nothing, sorry." Iola unnecessarily apologized and set her blanket down next to her brother's,

"Chet, shouldn't you put that away?" Chet glanced up and gave her a dirty look before pocketing his game boy. Iola smirked.

"Iola, you think you can help me with this?" Mr. Morton asked pointing to the radio, Iola nodded enthusiastically and bounced up.

"Hey, why don't you need my help?" Chet demanded and his mother sighed.

"Chet, why don't you go seal the basement door?" Chet groaned but hurried to obey anyway. Iola sat down next to her father on the workbench and turned her head sideways to get a better view of the radio. Mr. Morton unscrewed the bottom slowly, Iola watched him for a moment then quickly grabbed his arm. "Wait dad, I know what the problem is! You see you it should really be on F.M but you have it on A.M." Mr. Morton nodded and moved to screw the bottom back in when he stopped and held his daughter's arm in his hand.

"Iola, you're bleeding." Iola heard her mother gasp as she looked down at her arm to inspect the damage.

"It's just a scratch!" She protested as her mother ran up. Inspecting the damage carefully Mrs. Morton nodded.

"I'll go get the first aid kit, Iola don't worry honey you're gonna be fine." Mrs. Morton patted her daughter's hand reassuringly and headed towards the oversized first aid kit, her husband quickly following. Iola glanced down at her hand and rolled her eyes, her mom was a first class worry wort. A sudden drop of water splashed onto her forehead and startled Iola looked up to where water was leaking through the basement roof.

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><p>"Rock-a-by baby, in the treetop when the wind blows the cradle will rock and..." Chief Ezra Collig's voice trailed off, had he never paid attention to the lyrics? Such a creepy little song, Collig sighed and moved his leg to wake it back up.<p>

"Wahhhhhh" His five month year old granddaughter wailed her little face scrunched up and red from anger.

"Dad! You woke her up!" Alice Collig stepped up and held her hands our to claim her daughter.

"Sorry Al," Collig apologized and stood up to hand his daughter her child despite the pain in his back. Alice must have noticed that he was pain.

"Dad you should rest, it's your day off!" Collig shook his head stubbornly,

"Al, no. I've got to protect my family there's a hurricane coming." Alice sighed and nodded, repositioning her daughter. Collig moved down towards the rest of their family and turned to his son in law. " Do we have everything?"

"Yes Mr. Collig." Alice's husband still had trouble calling Collig anything other "Mr. Collig" after nearly a year of marriage, but Collig didn't want to rush the kid. " Bryan just came back after getting some batteries from his house." Collig nodded and winced fighting off the desire to put his hands over his ears after his granddaughter's cries grew louder and more urgent.

" Eric, she wants her daddy." A tired sounding Alice handed Eric their daughter and almost immediately the cries stopped. Collig smiled at his granddaughter and brushed a piece of hair back from her sweet little face. The loud sound of thunder in the distance startled the little family and the baby started crying again. Groaning Alice put her hands over her daughter's ears so the threatening sound would be muffled and Eric sat down leaning against the wall.

"Hey Ezra, your phone is ringing!" A voice called from the other side of the basement. Annoyed, Collig marched over and snatched the phone from his brother. He still couldn't figure out how to answer this thing, he was fine with his old flip phone but Alice had insisted saying;

"Dad, c'mon you're like the only cop in Bayport who doesn't have one! It would make your life so much easier." Easier? Nope, too many buttons and app thingies. Nehemiah Collig rolled his eyes, grabbed the phone, pressed a multitude of buttons, handed it back to his brother and suddenly it was working.

"Chief, we just got a tip, civilian thought she saw Arundhati Saleem on Norman road." Collig recognized the street name right away.

"Baker, neighbor? And which house?" He barked fear churning in his stomach,

"716. Oh no isn't that the-"

"Hardy house," Collig interrupted and closed his eyes silently cursing Fenton for having anything to do with Arundhati Saleem." He felt a hand on his arm and opened his eyes to his daughter's worried face.

"Dad, are you okay?" Collig met her eyes then turned to give his brother a look hoping he'd understand.

"Al, I've got to go, stay safe." Was all he could say before tucking his phone into the pocket out of his windbreaker and dashing up the basement stairs.

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><p>Joe had decided to follow his angel, well mainly because he sensed that a bad storm was coming and she had been so persistent. A pretty girl that wanted him to follow her. But he was still regretting storming out on his family, it probably wasn't the best way to handle his anger. Now he was doing his best to keep up with the angel as they climbed the steep slope.<p>

"Joe." The angel called sharply and Joe groaned in response, he was still in pain from the mast falling on him. And the pain had recently gotten worse, wait, had he even stopped to see if he was okay? Collapsing against the sandy ledge, Joe ran his hands up and down his body checking for injuries and stopped when his hands came in contact with something wet. Blood. He could immediately tell by the warm sticky wet feeling, taking a deep breath Joe pulled his hand up to his face and stared transfixed at crimson liquid. And then everything seemed to slow down.

"Joe! Joe can you hear me?" Her voice sounded far away and somehow Joe was aware of a arm on his shoulder, then a blurry figure in front of his face. Joe closed his eyes hoping that the pounding in his skull would stop, but it only increased. Someone was shaking him, he tried to open his eyes, he tried to speak but no words came. And darkness came swiftly leaving him with now nothing, but sleep.

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><p><strong>I know, I know this is late but it took a long time. Too long actually, I had to keep redoing the first part with Frank and the terrorist because it didn't seem right , but in the end I'm glad I did. If any one caught that Ezra's older brother was named Nehemiah- yeah lol, his older's sister name is Esther and his father's name is Job. No just kidding, but that would be weird. Okay I wasted enough of your time I only have one more thing to say; REVIEW!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

** I FINALLY UPDATED! I know it's been a while but please stay with me on this, and thank you, thank you so much everybody who has reviewed, favorited followed this story. Thank you Foxy121 for your help and ideas, you're such a blessing! Oh and NancyAustin , kudos for writing the first four paragraphs. Love you sis! I am currently working on chapter seven so please don't give up on me.**

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><p>Frank held his breath waiting to see what would happen. Aziz quickly strode to the door motioning for one of his men to follow him. Smiling evilly he turned to Fenton "You see, I always receive what I want. I wanted my son and here he is, he has come to me at last."<p>

"Actually he's come to us, your son would never come to you." Frank couldn't resist. Growling angrily Aziz made his way across the room and slapped the older Hardy brother across the cheek. Walking back to the door he continued.

" You see Fenton, I knew you would be the key to finding him. You have always stuck your nose into my affairs. At last I can be reunited with my son. It looks like I don't even need to find your other son. The boys must be very close, because he has come himself and during a hurricane!" Saying this Arundhati opened the door and stepped back.

A soaking Zanier entered the house"Joe..." he started speaking, only to freeze when he saw the Hardys, Frank and his parents were bound, there were several strange men surrounding them, and it looked like Frank had been struck. Though what worried him more was that Aunt Trudy and Joe were nowhere to be seen. "Frank...what's going on, who are these people, where's Aunt Trudy, Joe?!" Zain startled as Aziz and his guard stepped out from his hiding place.

"Ah, all very good questions that I have very good answers for. You see I'm your father, I was just catching up with an old friend, that annoying woman has been locked in a closet, and no one seems to know where Joe is." Zanier looked startled.

"Wha...what? My father is dead." Zain's voice shook. He turned to look at Frank for answers, Frank swallowed and gave Zain a look that said everything.

"Zanier, I know you think that I died when you were a child. You see, that is what I wanted you and your *jaddah to think. But no, I survived and then fought, I fought Zanier. Even in captivity and when I escaped I came straight to you." Arundhati finished smiling his arms outreached for his son.

Zain took a breath looking once more at Frank and Fenton before throwing himself bravely at Aziz The terrorist screamed pulling Zain off himself then he said something in Arabic to his guards.

"Zainier, You do not understand, this man, Fenton Hardy, killed your mother. He was the one who took my dear Massaret, he took away you." Aziz stepped forward towards Zain. Frank held his breath watching, his heart hammering in his chest loudly. "This man is the evil one."

Zain shook his head stubbornly and looked up to meet the terrorist's eyes.

" No. I know Mr. Hardy, he's like a father to me. He always strives to maintain and create justice. You-you.." Zain's voice trailed off. Fenton grit his teeth and lowered his head.

"Saleem-"

"*Eskoot!" Aziz roared and Fenton winced.

Frank closed his eyes and once again pulled hard against his zip-ties then stopped remembering an old trick his father had taught him. First he turned his wrists up, then he turned them sideways(palm to palm). And then he fi-

"Noooooo!" Frank heard his mother scream, quickly he looked up just in time to see the door being kicked in. Everything after seemed to happen in slow motion; the living room was filled with the Bayport Police Force and Aziz's angry face was blocked from Frank's view by his tall guard. Loud screams and gunshots echoed through the small room, Frank slowly stood to his feet and stepped towards where he had last seen the terrorist. BANG! The loud sound of a gunshot behind him made him freeze. He blinked.

"Frank!" Someone called, panic evident in their voice. Frank turned to see but surprising he was falling, the floor rushed up to meet him. People were screaming, the blackness was calling and Frank felt too tired to resist.

*Eskoot-shut up

*Jaddah- Grandmother


	7. Chapter 7

** I'm done! *says in a sing-song voice* Okay people, thank you so much for all of your kind reviews. They really mean a lot to me. I thought I lost this chapter, twice! But I managed to save it and make it better then ever. Don't except to see me until June because I'll be in Idaho instead of where I am now. Yes, I'm going on vacation, I'm leaving tomorrow too. So I thought I'd get this done for you guys:) REVIEW PLEASE! (Disclaimer written by the awesome Nancy Austin)**

**Gangsta Disclaima: Yo! I don't own nuttin, so dont sent da panda cars afta me **

Joe opened his eyes to a bright light shining directly in his face, he groaned and automatically his hands went up to shield his eyes. *SNAP* Something popped out of his arm leaving Joe with a momentary prick of pain. He gasped and sat up, all senses now awake. Taking a look at his surroundings, he was surprised to find that he was sitting in a hospital bed. Almost immediately his Angel was at his side.

"Joe lie back down, you've pulled out your I.V!" She shrieked easing him back down. Joe opened his mouth to speak but instead retched, a mixture of vomit and blood descended from his throat. Joe's angel covered her mouth, and for a second looked like she might be sick, but quickly catching herself she handed him an emesis bowl. Joe took a breath and retched again before falling forward.

"Easy, easy, I've got you. Woodward!" She murmured her hands running up and down his back comforting him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a well dressed man approach.

"Mr. Hardy, how are you feeling?" Joe closed his eyes and gripped his hands tightly willing himself not to throw up again. "I see." The man noted pointlessly. "On the count of three, One-Two-Three!" They quickly pulled Joe back into a sitting position causing intense pain to shoot through his abdomen. Joe grit his teeth and sunk his face into the pillow until it passed.

"Where-where am I?" He choked studying the blurry faces of the two in front of him. His angel was the first to react, she gave him an apologetic smile then reached forward and re-inserted his I.V. before stepping back.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you where you are at the moment, but I can say you're safe." She said importantly placing her hands behind her back and twiddling her fingers. The man next to her nodded. Joe quickly analyzed the pair, his angel, a tall blond haired, blue eyed beauty acting as if she owned the world. She wanted to tell him something but was holding back. And the man next to her, a doctor, Joe had figured that much out. He was studying Joe, watching his every move.

What happened? He wanted to ask but the angel cut him off.

"We'll talk later, you need rest. Sleep." She ordered him, giving him one last regretful look before leaving the room. The Doctor followed her out, leaving Joe to himself and the numerous machines he was attached to.

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><p>Chief Ezra Colig gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white.<p>

"SWAT?" He asked not turning his eyes from the road.

"Ummm ETA Fifteen minutes. They're not going to make it." Lieutenant Baker answered while trying to juggle holding his laptop and equipment box. Chief Colig growled pounding his fist angrily against the dashboard.

Quickly Colig swerved right ignoring the cries of the protest from the passenger side. The cruiser made a sickening groan and screeched soaring on two wheels for a moment. Colig leaned forward to see better, the rain was making it almost impossible to see where they were going and was also making the road slippery. *BUMP!* The cruiser hit a large pothole sending a spray of pebbles and dirt into the windshield and violently throwing Colig back against his seat. He cursed under his breath, but sat back up and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Less then a minute later he slammed on his brakes and jumped out of the car.

"I need my gun Baker!" He barked.

Baker tossed him his glock and grabbed his. Colig snapped his weapon off safety and sprinted towards the Hardy house. Baker stopped Colig at the driveway, grabbing his shoulders and turning him to face him.

"Wait, Chief shouldn't we wait for SWAT? They're more capable at handling this then we are. It's their job." Baker asked looking over Colig's shoulder, gripping him tightly. Colig grit his teeth and pulled himself away from the lieutenant's grip. Finally the SWAT van pulled up behind them splashing both cops with dirty street water. Baker looked disgusted. Quickly, brow furrowed with annoyance he started using his hands to wipe his uniform clean.

"Man up boy, hurrican'l destroy it anyway." Baker gave his boss a nasty look but stopped. The team leader of SWAT pulled an automatic out of the van and came up to Colig eyeing the house suspiciously

"Sir, are you 100% sure Saleem is here holding Mr. Hardy and his family hostage?" He asked taking his eyes off the house for a second to see Colig's expression. Colig nodded.

"Dead sure." The call first came when Colig and his family were hiding from the storm in his daughter's basement. Any other call and he would have just sent the force out to deal with it. It was his day off after all, but it was Saleem, Aziz Saleem. The Bayport Police had been on the lookout for Saleem ever since about March when they had gotten a call from the FBI, who, strangely enough wanted to work side by side. Colig declined. They had enough manpower and Intel to deal with it themselves and of course Colig wanted to be the one to put a bullet in Saleem's skull. The tip they had gotten earlier had been their first, and their last. (Colig hoped) Mrs. Grimoke, the one who first called it in, had spent many hours staring outside her window and at least half a dozen phone calls every week to the Police. Colig would have to thank her for that, later. The fact that she saw Saleem near the Hardy house was the fact that scared him the most. Fenton and Hardy had a past together that really even couldn't be described. A dangerous past.

"Sir." The SWAT officer called him pulling Colig out of his reverie. Collig nodded sprinting up the driveway to catch up to the rest of the group. He flattened himself against the wall and peered in watching for any movement. Yep, there it was. Two people fighting, both dark haired. The high shrill sound of a woman's scream broke through the air. Colig grimaced and held his hand up to count down from three on his fingers. On the count of three the officer closest to the door brought his leg up and kicked the door in. Colig stepped in wielding his weapon scanning the room for Saleem.

There he was. It had been a long time since Colig had seen Saleem, but he recognized him from the papers. He moved towards the terrorist his heart hammering loudly in his chest. Without warning he felt a heavy kick to his back and collapsed to the ground. Pain everywhere. Colig coughed weakly moving his hand towards his back to check for injuries. Oh great, he could feel his broken and cracked bones shift under his fingers. Colig groaned and laid his head down. *BANG*BANG* Two loud gunshots echoed through the small room causing Colig to sit up with a gasp. Saleem! Quickly he located the terrorist and began moving ducking just in time to not be pistol whipped by some Arab Saleem brought over.

Saleem pulled out a knife and steadied it his eyes set forward on his target. Without thinking Colig aimed his gun at Saleem's head and pressed the trigger-nothing happened.


	8. Chapter 8

Yes, it's been a while but I've been very very very busy and I'm a bit of a perfectionist with this update. This chapter is dedicated to all those who have served our country, all who have fought for our freedom.

DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to own these characters, their city or anything else you recognize.

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><p>Fenton listened guiltily to Zain stand up for him. The kid was like a son to him, and Fenton acted as father to him as well. If Zain knew before hand what Fenton had done then he wouldn't want anything to do with the Hardys. Fenton was exhausted, although the fight had taken a toll on his health he was mainly suffering from what he had been going through the past couple hours. This was never meant to happen. He remembered watching the terrorist's house go up flames. Fenton had stood there full of remorse and anger of what he did. But if he didn't then there would be far worse consequences. At the time, Fenton was young and full of strength, he had no clue what he was getting himself into. Until he was forced to kill Saleem. It was that or his country.<p>

Those horrible memories were resurfacing now, Fenton swallowed hard. He had to stand up to Saleem. It was the only way to save Zain, and his family.

"Saleem-" He said, his voice strong.

"Eskoot!" The terrorist roared cutting him off. Fenton frowned and stepped forward ready to attack.

"Noooooo!" Laura screamed. Fenton turned to see the door burst in and the Bayport Police spill in. Saleem was the first to react, stepping back and vanishing into the crowd. Fenton dove in right after him.

*BANG*** **That was a cop's gun. Fenton breathed a sigh of relief. Colig had gotten Saleem, he was sure of it. He had seen the Chief come in several minutes earlier and Colig was beyond capable of hitting the terrorist. Even from a distance away, after all Colig once was a sniper in war. Fenton pushed past those in his way and tripped over a still body on the ground. Looking down, he almost lost his lunch. There was blood everywhere. Fenton leaned forward and stood shakily to his feet before giving the fallen cop one last look.

It was then when he realized it wasn't the terrorist who had been shot. Fenton's heart dropped. Barely aware of his movements Fenton ran towards his son and knelt at his side.

"Quickly, call 911!" He ordered and without thinking, pressed his hand over his son's chest to stop the heavy flow of blood. The voices behind him seemed to fade to nothing and the people became just blurry figures. Fenton closed his eyes wishing this wasn't happening. Wishing he wasn't trying to stop his son from dying before his eyes. But it was all real, so very real. So he opened his eyes and screamed once again for someone to call 911. Fenton kept screaming all while watching his son fade before his eyes. There was too much blood. He breathed deeply through his nose and tore off his shirt before pressing it down hard over the hole in his son's chest. The bleeding had stopped.

Feeling a drop of sweat fall into his eye Fenton cursed pressing his lips together and brought a bloody hand up to wipe his brow. Then without warning someone was pushing him back away and another was leaning over Frank, pushing down on his chest with their gloved hands, breathing for him. Fenton watched in shock and confusion. Then it hit him, they were doing CPR. Frank wasn't breathing.

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><p>Joe wasn't sure how he woke. He wasn't even sure how long he was out, or where he was. One good thing, he noted. Was that he wasn't being blinded like he was when he woke earlier. Joe stretched, his fingers curling and un-curling, the muscles in his arms finally moving again. Then he raised himself up to stretch his back. Ow. He would have to be more careful moving with his side. Joe groaned lowering himself back down and studied the ceiling. Wait- what was he doing? Where was he? Who were his kidnappers? What were doing holding him here in this hospitalwarehouse? Thoughts and questions rushed through his brain giving him a slight headache. Quickly Joe wrapped his hands around his head and sat up swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Mr. Hardy I'm glad you're awake." Joe frowned then looked up and gasped. The man talking to him was t-a-l-l. At least 7' and defiantly not the doctor who had treated Joe earlier.

"I think it would be better if you sat back down." He suggested with a fake smile. Joe was tempted to for a second but quickly made up his mind.

"I'm good, but thanks. Where's my jacket?" The man kept his stupid smile,

"No, no. Mr. Hardy, you received life threatening injury's to your abdomen and stomach. Lie Down." Joe rolled his eyes.

"I feel fine. I'm actually better-" Joe smiled stupidly back and tried standing to his feet but fell back down against the bed. The man smirked.

"Grey. Your lucky boy's being stubborn!" He turned his head and called over his shoulder. Joe looked up to see his angel come through the door, looking annoyed.

"Woodard I told you to let him rest." Actually, Joe noted, she sounded more angry then annoyed.

"Look, I'm sorry Boss he just woke up and wanted out. You can't blame him, after all _you're_ the one who spoke to him last." He was teasing the angel, Joe thought to himself. _Not a good idea, she looks like she wants to kill something._ She didn't even look at Joe. Instead, she grit her teeth, and stepped forward to look up into the man's face.

"I'm in charge here." She said confidently pointing to herself. The tall man opposite her smirked in return. Both stood in silence for a moment longer. Joe rolled his eyes and pushed himself up, ignoring the pain in his side. Finally they seemed to snap out of their trance and Joe's angel turned back to her patient. At least Joe thought he was her patient. Maybe just the kidnapped son of a Private Detective. She gave him a odd smile and hoisted him up. _Wow, she's strong! _Although Joe liked seeing his angel in action, he would have preferred doing it himself. Or leaving these crazy people. But first it'd be best to meet them.

"And you are...?" Joe said expectantly.

The man cleared his throat, " FBI Probationary Agent Ian Woodward and this is-"

" Special Agent Angel Grey." She cut in extending her hand out towards Joe. _Huh so her name is Angel...odd. _Joe thought absentmindedly before her words took real effect.

" You're the FBI? Okay so where am I? And how you know who I am?" Joe asked his eyes darting back and forth from Woodward to Grey.

"Mr. Hardy-"

"I'll explain," Grey cut in again and gave Woodard a look. "Joe, you see we, the FBI, have been watching your family since December. We figured that the terrorist Aziz Saleem would target your family because of his and Fenton Hardy's past in-ummm, let me just start at the beginning.

Aziz Saleem, born April seventh, 1975, in the city of Erbil Iraq, grew up into a wealthy family who were well-known for violent acts of terrorism in their country. The Saleem's were also said to be neglectful and maybe even abusive, towards their son. At the age of sixteen Aziz left Erbil and started towards Baghdad but was kidnapped along the way and forced to join the Taliban. About two weeks later Aziz and the Taliban reached Kuwait where Aziz and your father, who was then an Army Ranger, met. Although we're-"

"My dad was an Army Ranger?!" Grey blinked.

"You mean you didn't know? He didn't tell you?" She asked surprised.

"I didn't know. Neither does Frank-unless he never told me...how do you guys know?" Joe felt strangely sick. There had never been secrets in the Hardy house. Fenton and Laura had raised their sons to be completely honest, well unless of course your life depended on it. Lies were for mystery solving, for going undercover or telling a little fib that could get you in the know. Joe and Frank had lived their whole lives looking at old pictures of Fenton and his cop buddies together solving cases and hearing old crime stories that were worth telling. Of course, the FBI could be lying. They might not even be the FBI! But really, could Fenton really have been lying all this time?

"We're the FBI Mr. Hardy." Grey said softly looking almost sorry for Joe.

" But how do I know you're not lying? Show me your proof." Joe ordered.

"Lying about what? Your father serving his country or us working for the government?" Joe didn't answer. His side was starting to hurt again and for once he was overwhelmed. He couldn't take it anymore. Joe cursed loudly and buried his head in his hands. The room became silent. Joe took a shaky breath and squeezed his knees together.

"Joe are you feeling all right?" Grey asked already knowing the answer. Joe lifted his head up and met eye contact.

"No. no I'm not."

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><p>Is this too OOC? I don't know...probably wasn't the best update but I'm please with the angst. Review please!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**WOO-HOO! An update! ****I do have good reasons for not writing this summer/fall. Very good reasons. One of my reasons being I had sugery just two months ago. But I have wracking my brain nightly trying to figure out how to continue. I am so excited I actually finished this chapter and now am back on FanFiction. I have missed this.**

** Overall I'm pleased with this chapter but if you see anything that needs work or have any comments please tell me.(In a nice way) Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed, followed, or liked Bigger Picture during my hiatus. Thanks to max2013, The Silent Whisperer, Foxy121, Baltimore Raven, GirlsWrite, Hibernia12, Elizabeth Nickerson, cryshardy, Avengers13 and you so much for still hoping I'd one day update. Which I did! Thanks to my unofficial Beta and sister Nancy Austin for all the help, she's so amazing!**

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><p>In the dark of night Joe lay, his heart heavily pounding against his sore chest and his side tight with pain. He was listening and waiting until the soft footsteps overhead slowed to a stop. He had to wait for several painstaking hours. <em>Waiting, ha!<em> _Who knew Joesph Irving Hardy had the patience to wait that long? Well I did. _Joe smiled at his own inside joke before sighing ruefully, too bad no one else was here to hear how funny he was being. It was then when the severity of the situation sank in. Nobody else could hear him. Joe observed the room around him once more, his sub-conscious looking for a familiar face. Finally he slowly rose to his knees and dropped to the floor. Gasping at the reality of what he'd been through had left behind. The dull ache in his side had turned into a roaring burn and the foggy memories were now clearly playing in his brain. Although he didn't want to admit it, Joe knew everything the supposed FBI had told him was him was true, or else he wouldn't be here.

"I don't think he's coming to with the truth." Joe's ears pricked up. He couldn't see where the voice was coming from but he could tell it was underneath him. Quickly he scoured the room for the source of noise and found it. An air duct. Joe pressed his body to the floor, painfully bearing all weight on his injured side.

"Yes. He is, I saw it in his eyes." Grey finally answered. Another long moment went by. Joe was about to get up when the FBI agent spoke again, this time there was a shaky edge to her voice. Something was clearly wrong.

"...Woodard, you need to see this."

"What?"

"Just get over here-now." She breathed hard and muttered something unintelligible. Joe's gut screamed at him that something was wrong.

"Oh my..."

"Hardy's brother was shot then immediately taken to Bethesda, Norfolk half-an hour ago." For a moment Joe couldn't even move, couldn't even breathe. His heart beat so loudly in his chest that he didn't hear the next words. He didn't even want to hear what they said next.

In shock, Joe shakily stood to his feet. _ Frank shot, Frank shot, Frank shot..._The words repeated themselves through his brain over and over. But-how? Joe crossed the room without knowing what he was doing. Then he turned and crossed the room again. All emotions he had unintentionally bottled-up were now staring to overspill. A single tear fell from his blue eyes and slid down his cheek. That tear stopped him. Joe resisted wiping it away, instead he took a deep breath. Normally cases went by fast for the Hardy's. Teamwork helped a lot, so did not going through what he already gone through. But this wasn't a case, this was personal. Unbelievable and painful. What had happened had torn their family apart. There he stood for a moment just breathing and thinking before swiftly turning around and heading downstairs.

Maybe he needed to think of this like he normally would for a case. Frank was Frank. Frank was fine.

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><p>"Calling Dr. Worbaski to ICU. Calling Dr. Worbaski." A squeaky woman's voice sounded from the speakers above. Fenton's muscles popped loudly as he stretched and stood to his feet. Laura opened her tear-stained eyes and warily glanced at her husband before closing them again.<p>

" Fen, where are you going?" She asked softly, her small voice sounded weak and tired. Fenton sighed and took a breath.

"I'm going to see if they're taking care of Frank yet. Or if they've put their needs before his life." To anyone else he sounded powerful, angry, but Laura could hear the shake in his voice and could imagine what her husband looked like. With his shoulders bent down at an angle, his face rough with the beginnings of a beard. He was a broken man now.

"Both of them." It was a little more then a whisper but her husband heard her.

"What?"

"Both of them, we've lost both of them Fenton." Fenton stood for a moment wondering how to respond, or even if he should. Finally he brought a hand up to his face and rested his face in his palm. This was all his fault. All his fault. If he hadn't-and if just had...no. He had enough of ifs, he was going to do something. Fenton looked back at his wife one last time before crossing over the threshold and heading down the hall. Laura knew he was gone. She wiped her face with the tissue she had found in her bag and curled up.

"Laura." Surprised she raised her head and once more opened her eyes. Chief Ezra Colig stood in front her looking at her with sympathy written on his face. "We need to talk, where's Fenton.?"

"Um, he-he went to check on Frank." She couldn't help the small crack in her voice, it was either that or completely break down. Colig sighed.

"I need him Laura, we gotta discuss some stuff." Laura sat up and gave him a look.

"He needs to do this Ezra." Colig nodded. It wasn't that he was trying to be insensitive, Laura knew that. Colig had questions that needed answers that only Fenton could provide. Yes, Frank was in the hospital getting medical help for a life-threatening injury, but fixing him was something only the doctors could do.

Laura watched a flicker of emotions cross over his face.

"Colig, please tell me what this is all about. You've already taken custody of Aziz, what more do-" She sopped mid sentence realizing why Colig was here. Fenton had lied to her, he was hiding something. It was true, she did know about Desert Storm and that somehow Fenton knew the terrorist. But was that all? She was exhausted with thinking, with trying to be strong. Laura let out a sob. It was a second before Colig knew what to say. He was responsible for both protecting Laura and keeping her hopes up when Fenton was away. It wasn't just his duty as Fenton's friend it was his duty as Laura's.

"Laura- listen. Please. Frank will be okay. You and I both know your sons. One day they're in the hospital and the next day they've convinced you to let them follow another lead. Frank and Joe may get themselves into a—heap load of trouble, but they're strong, persistent, they never give up. They're Frank and Joe Hardy." He wasn't sure if he said the right thing but he knew when Laura took a breath and slowed her tears.

" You're right Ezra. Thank you." It was still hard to keep it together, you couldn't have told her not to cry. But she had hope.

"Family for Frank Hardy?" Both heads turned in the same direction. A young blond nurse stood in the doorway wearing mint green scrubs. Fearful at the possible outcome of her son Laura raised a tentative hand before asking:

"Is he going to be okay?" Surprising the nurse smiled. Laura's hand came down and clutched at her heart, her eyes wide. On the inside she was chanting yes over and over to herself to keep from listening to doubt.

"Yes, we're cautiously optimistic Frank will make a full recovery." Laura breathed and let her clenched fists fall at her sides. "Now for his condition; the bullet did hit an artery and of course that explains the major blood loss we're dealing with. Lack of blood flow to the body unfortunately also means his organs couldn't function properly and began to shut down which is why he stopped breathing, but our skilled staff was quickly able to him patch up to stop any further damage from happening." It was over, all along she had trying to prepare herself for this and now he'd be alright. Laura whispered a small prayer of thanks. But inside she felt the worst was yet to come.

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><p>"Can I help you?" Fenton nearly jumped out of his skin.<p>

" Uhh, yes I need to find Dr. Worbaski. It's urgent." He sounded tense. If he hadn't mentioned it was urgent the nurse could have guessed by his tone. The frumpy looking nurse regarded him with a beady eye.

"The doctor is busy with a patient." She replied flatly.

"Which patient, may I ask." He was being way more polite then he actually intended to.

"No, you may not ask." She answered with a frown. "Sir you need you to leave. We have a policy-"

"I don't care about your policy!" Fenton erupted all traces of being polite gone. Silence. A phone went off somewhere in the background. The nurse furrowed her eyebrows. Silence. The nurse started to get up. Fenton breathed. Weren't nurses supposed to have never ending patience?

"Silver shot! Oh man it's you!" A loud voice cut through the tension. Fenton slowly turned and gasped.

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><p><strong> I know it seems very Franky right now but soon you shall see. I have great plans for Joe. *laughs evilly*<strong>

** Please, please review. All your reviews are both encouraging and inspiring. I may still be a rookie but I want to know if I'm doing this right.**


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